Electrochemical activation of molecular catalysts : from basics to applications

International audienceIn this article, the fundamental concepts of redox catalysis are first presented. While the one electron scheme provides general guidelines, it needs to be adapted when more complex systems involving several chemical reactions and electron transfer are concerned. Secondly, the structure of some bioinspired or biomimetic molecular catalysts for oxygen and proton reduction reactions is described. In that later case, a key aspect is to prevent degradation of the catalyst while keeping important turnover frequency, but also to keep the activity upon electrode functionalization